Complete Game Notes (PDF)

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The 15th-ranked Slippery Rock University football team will host West Chester University Saturday at 6 p.m. at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium in the annual Hall of Fame Game.
 
Below you will find all pertinent information regarding tickets, parking, tailgating and live coverage, along with complete game notes.
 

Week 2: Slippery Rock vs. West Chester
The Rock (1-0)	West Chester Golden Rams (1-0)
Complete Game Notes (PDF)	Game Notes
Depth Chart	Depth Chart
Roster	Roster
Schedule	Schedule
Statistics	Statistics
Coach: Shawn Lutz	Coach: Bill Zwaan Sr.
Program Records	Program Records
PSAC Standings  |  PSAC Stats Leaders  |  PSAC Schedule
Mihalik-Thompson Stadium  |  SRU Campus Map  |  Football Parking Map

 
LIVE INTERNET COVERAGE
• Live Stats  |  Provided by SRU Athletic Communication.
• Live Streaming Video  |  Provided by SRU Athletic Communication.
• Live Audio (Online and Radio)  |  Provided by The Rock Station 97.7 FM (Butler County).
• X (formerly Twitter)  |  In-game updates and highlights.
 
WATCH ON YOUR TV
• Fans can watch the game live and on-demand for free on the Rock Athletics Digital Network, created and operated by the SRU Athletic Communication Office.
 • Search for "Rock Athletics Digital Network" in the app stores on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and Android TV devices to download the app. All 11 regular season SRU football games will be available on the app.
 
MOBILE APP
• Fans can also watch all PSAC football games on the PSAC Sports Digital Network mobile app that is available for free in the app stores on Apple and Android devices.
 
TICKETS AND ENTRY
A limited number of tickets will be available for purchase at the gate this year. All fans are encouraged to help speed up the entry process by purchasing tickets online in advance and using the mobile QR code for entry on game day. Visit the links below to purchase tickets in advance. All bags will be searched at the gate.
 
• Single Game Tickets  |  Season Tickets
• Stadium gates will open at 4:30 p.m.
• Chair-Back Reserved Seat - $15
• Reserved Bench Seat - $15
• Adult General Admission - $10
• Students Ages 6-High School – $5
• Children Ages 6 and Under – FREE
• SRU Students – FREE with valid student ID
• Students from Other Colleges - $5 with valid student ID
 
SRU FAN PARKING
• Pre-sold Reserved Tailgate Parking in Lot A is Only Available Online!
• Reserved Tailgate Lot A Single-Game Parking  |  Reserved Tailgate Lot A Season Parking
• Parking Map (PDF)
• Lots open at 2 p.m.
• General Parking in Lots B, C, G - $10 (CASH ONLY)
• Free Parking Available in other campus lots
• Shuttles will circle the paid parking lots to assist with transportation to the gates
• Campus Map  |  Stadium is #49 on Map
 
WEST CHESTER FAN PARKING
• Parking Map (PDF)
• Visiting fans can park together and tailgate in Lot E ($10 Cash Only).
• Lot opens at 2 p.m.
• GPS Address: 246 Harmony Road, Slippery Rock, PA
• Visiting fans can enter the game through gate six, located at the field hockey/lacrosse building, which provides direct access to the visiting bleachers.
• Campus Map  |  Visitor parking is above building #50. Entry gate is at building #50.
 
TAILGATING
• Tailgating is allowed in paid lots four hours before kickoff (lots open at 2 p.m.)
• No Tailgating at halftime
• All Tailgaters must enter game at kickoff
• Tailgaters must vacate the lots 90 minutes after the game ends
• No hard liquor or glass bottles
• Adhere to all campus tailgating rules found HERE.

STUDENT GATE PROCEDURES
Students should still bring their valid ID to enter the game through the student gate, but will also need to use the CORE application on their cell phones. Login to your CORE account to access the event QR code that will be scanned at the gate. Only CURRENT students will be allowed to enter through the student gate. To speed up entry into the game, students should add the event in advance and be prepared to scan their code at the entry gate.
 

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THE GAME
Slippery Rock will welcome West Chester back to Mihalik-Thompson Stadium for the first time since the 2018 PSAC title game in what will be the first of two mandated PSAC crossover games against Eastern Division schools. Both teams enter the contest with 1-0 records after picking up non-conference wins last Saturday.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES  |  Game-by-Game Scores
Slippery Rock owns an 11-9 edge in the all-time series that dates back to 1929. This will mark the seventh straight meeting where at least one team is nationally ranked. The teams met five straight seasons from 2014-18 with SRU going 3-2 in those games. Seven of the 20 meetings between the teams came in the PSAC Championship game. The Rock have won four of the last five meetings with the lone WCU win in that stretch coming in the 2018 PSAC title game.
 
• First Meeting: 1929 (SRU won 13-6)
• Last Meeting: 2022 (SRU won 35-14)
• Current Streak: Slippery Rock +1
• at WCU: WCU leads 7-5
• at SRU: SRU leads 6-2
• Most Points Scored (WCU): 46 (2014)
• Biggest Win Margin (WCU): 30 (1963)
• Most Points Scored (SRU): 61 (2015)
• Biggest Win Margin (SRU): 49 (2015)
• Last SRU Win: 2022 at WCU (35-14)
• Last WCU Win: 2018 at SRU (33-10)
 
COACHING MATCHUP
Slippery Rock head coach Shawn Lutz is in his 28th overall year at The Rock and his eighth year (seventh season) as head coach, where he owns a 59-17 record with four PSAC West titles and four trips to the NCAA playoffs. Lutz was the PSAC West Coach of the Year in both 2018 and 2019 and was the Don Hansen Football Gazette Division II National Coach of the Year in 2019. The 59 wins are the most among all PSAC head coaches since the 2016 season. Lutz was an assistant at SRU for 20 years before taking over the program in 2016. He has been a member of the coaching staff for 12 of SRU's 19 PSAC West titles. Lutz played tight end at West Virginia University, graduating in 1996, and earned a master's degree in sport management from SRU in 2003.
 
Bill Zwaan is in his 21st year and 20th season coaching at West Chester, where he has compiled a record of 158-71 and won six PSAC East titles to go along with 10 trips to the NCAA playoffs. His 158 wins are the sixth-most in PSAC history and are nearly double any other active PSAC head coach. The longest-tenured active coach in the league also posted a 54-14 record in six seasons as head coach at Division III Widener before taking the WCU job, giving him a career record of 212-85. A former QB at the University of Delaware, Zwaan graduated in 1979.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Slippery Rock stayed put at No. 15 in the AFCA Division II national rankings this week. The Rock also held steady at No. 16 in the D2football.com national poll this week. Both DII national polls are available on page nine of the PDF notes linked above.
 
HALL OF FAME GAME  |  2023 Hall of Fame Class
SRU will induct its 39th class to the Rock Athletics Hall of Fame during a banquet Saturday afternoon. The class will then be recognized at halftime of the game. The class includes one football player with offensive lineman Thomas Bell (SRU '01) being enshrined. Bell was a three-time first team All-PSAC honoree that led the offensive line for one of the best four-year runs in program history between 1997-00. The class also includes Kayla Blackburn (tennis, class of 2009), Cameron Daugherty (track & field, class of 2012), Rodney Irwin (wrestling, class of 1972), Amanda Quigley (track & field, class of 2011), Melinda Rhoads (basketball, class of 1990) and Ronald Wasko (baseball, class of 1987).
 
LAST MEETING – SEPT. 10, 2022  |  Box Score
Slippery Rock reeled off 28-straight points to break a 7-7 tie early in the second quarter and rolled to a 35-14 win at West Chester in week two last fall. The Rock put up 408 yards of offense with 250 passing yards and 158 rushing yards. The Golden Rams went for 253 total yards with 143 passing yards and 110 rushing yards. Chris D'Or ran for 108 yards and one TD on 14 carries and Isaiah Edwards rushed for 51 yards and one TD on nine touches. Kyle Sheets added four catches for 95 yards and one score. West Chester used two quarterbacks with Cooper Jordan replacing starter Shane Dooley and finding some success late in the game. Jordan went 4-for-7 for 57 yards and one TD after Dooley tossed a pair of interceptions and was sacked four times.
 
LAST WEEK FOR SRU
Slippery Rock used a stout defensive effort in the first half to overcome a slow start on the offensive side of the ball before finding its legs in the second half on the way to a 28-17 win over Wayne State at home last week. The Rock ran for 209 yards and averaged 6.1 yards per carry on 34 rush attempts while passing the ball just 18 times for 138 yards. Brayden Long threw for two touchdowns and no interceptions and didn't have to throw it much thanks to the running back trio of Khalid Dorsey, Chris D'Or and Isaiah Edwards, who all rushed for more than 50 yards, found the end zone once apiece and averaged more than 6.3 yards per carry.
 
JOHNSON EARNS PSAC WEEKLY HONOR
Rock defensive tackle Munchie Johnson was honored with the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week award after recording a career-high 11 tackles and 2.0 tackles for loss last week. The weekly award is the first of Johnson's career. His previous single-game high for tackles was eight against West Chester last September.
 
LAST WEEK FOR WCU
West Chester led for only 53 seconds last week, but it was the 53 seconds that counted most. The Golden Rams scored a go-ahead touchdown with 53 second left in the fourth quarter to earn a 20-19 comeback win on the road at Bentley. The hosts tried a 46-yard field goal with just 1:37 to play, but missed and gave West Chester a chance. The Rams made it count with a 71-yard drive in just 44 seconds with Jayden Williams rushing in for the winning score. West Chester put up 404 yards of offense with 292 passing yards and 112 rushing yards while limiting Bentley to 320 yards with 184 rushing yards and 136 passing yards. Cooper Jordan was 19-of-27 for 292 yards with one TD and no INT while also rushing for 84 yards on 16 carries to account for 376 of his team's 404 total yards. He was named the PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week for that effort.
 
14 STRAIGHT SEASON-OPENING WINS
Slippery Rock's win last week marked its 14th straight win in a season opener, a streak that stretches back to 2008. The Rock are now 6-0 on the road and 8-0 at home over the last 14 season openers.
 
15 STRAIGHT WINS IN HOME OPENERS
Slippery Rock hasn't lost its home opener since 2005, winning its first home game of the season in each of the last 15 seasons.
 
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
Rock football teams have compiled a 183-69 (.726) record the last 48+ seasons in games played at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium (formerly known as N. Kerr Thompson Stadium). The Rock own an 83-24 (.776) home record since artificial turf was installed in the summer of 2003 and are 79-18 (.814) in home games since 2005. The numbers get even better in recent years, as The Rock are 61-9 (.871) at home since the beginning of the 2010 season and 48-6 (.889) since the beginning of the 2013 season.
 
WE LOVE NIGHT GAMES
The Rock have won their last 29 consecutive games that started at 4 p.m. or later and have not lost an evening game at home or on the road since Sept. 29, 2012.
 
HOME NIGHT GAMES
SRU has been nearly impossible to beat at home in night games over the last decade, posting a 31-1 record since 2010 and winning its last 23 straight home night games. Since SRU installed lights in 2003, the program has posted a 42-9 overall record at home under the lights. The last time SRU lost a home night game was a 56-49 defeat against Kutztown on Sept. 29, 2012.
 
EARLY SEASON PSAC CROSSOVERS
Since 2006, Slippery Rock has posted a record of 28-4 against PSAC East teams in the early season mandated crossover games. The Rock have won their last seven straight early season PSAC crossovers and are 17-1 against the PSAC East in the early season crossovers dating back to 2013. The only SRU loss to the PSAC East in the early season crossovers since 2013 was a week two loss at Shippensburg in 2018 when SRU fumbled in its own end zone in the closing minute and Shippensburg recovered the fumble for a touchdown to win 25-21.
 
NO TURNOVERS
SRU played a clean game on offense last week with no turnovers and no fumbles. The Rock are one of only 31 teams in Division II that managed to escape week one without turning the ball over.
 
LONG MAKES SECOND CAREER START
QB Brayden Long made his second career start last week and became the first quarterback that SRU recruited out of high school to start a season opener since Zack Newsock started the 2014 season opener. Long sat behind All-PSAC QB Noah Grover the last two seasons before earning the starting role this year. He threw two touchdown passes late in the second quarter after settling into the role and was much more in command of the offense in the second half, when he led SRU on two more touchdown drives.
 
FEWEST PASSING YARDS IN OPENER SINCE 2012
With SRU deploying an air-raid spread offense for more than a decade, games in which The Rock throw for under 200 yards have been few and far between. The 138 passing yards last week marked the fewest passing yards in a season opener for SRU since 2012 when SRU threw for 137 yards against Seton Hill.
 
MOST RUSHING YARDS IN OPENER SINCE 2018
The Rock's 209 rushing yards last week marked the highest rushing output in a week one game since rushing for 269 yards in the 2018 season opener against Kentucky State, which was the first game for eventual NFL running back Wes Hills on his way to setting the SRU single-season rushing record that fall.
 
DYNAMIC TRIO OF RUNNING BACKS
Slippery Rock running backs Khalid Dorsey, Chris D'Or and Isaiah Edwards put on a show last week, combining for 208 total yards on 27 carries and two receptions. Dorsey averaged 8.4 yards per carry on nine touches, D'Or went for 6.3 yards on 11 carries and Edwards went for 52 yards on seven carries with a 29-yard TD marking the longest run of his SRU career.
 
INJURIES TO RECEIVERS
SRU preseason All-American Kyle Sheets was injured on the very first series of the game last week and did not return after playing just three snaps. Later in the game, first team All-PSAC return specialist and starting receiver Jawon Hall also left the game with an injury. Both players are listed as questionable this week.
 
RAMPER ANSWERS THE CALL
With Kyle Sheets sidelined early last week, SRU called on 6-4 sophomore Logan Ramper to get his first meaningful minutes. He answered that call when he went up over a defender and pulled down a 35-yard TD grab for the first points of the season. The catch was Ramper's first collegiate catch. He would finish the game as SRU's leading receiver with two catches for 47 yards with both grabs going for first downs.
 
STOKES TAKES ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITY
Slippery Rock also played last week without starting cornerback Ali Abdul-Hakim, who is expected to return to the lineup soon. That opened the door for Josh Stokes to make his second career start. All he did with that opportunity was record a career-high seven tackles with a half-tackle for loss and come down with the only turnover of the game, a key interception late in the first half that set up an SRU touchdown right before the break. It marked the second interception of his career.
 
CAREER-HIGHS ON DEFENSE
Josh Stokes was one of four returning players to tally career-highs in tackles last week. Senior Selvin Haynes led the way with 12 stops, while junior Munchie Johnson had 11 tackles and junior Cottrell Hatchett had seven tackles.
 
NEWCOMERS ON DEFENSE
Transfers Kyle Kudla (LB), Donnell Henriquez (CB) and Andrew Vince (DE) all tallied at least five tackles last week in their SRU debuts. Kudla had nine stops with 1.5 tackles for loss and was all over the field calling the defense. Henriquez made five tackles and Vince also made five stops and had two QB hurries.
 
FRESHMEN GET SOME TIME
Two true freshmen made an impact on the box score last week on the defensive side of the ball with linebacker Max Heckert finishing with three tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss and defensive end Daniel Long finishing with one tackle and a half-sack in his first career game.
 
LIMITED RETURN CHANCES
Slippery Rock was explosive in the return game in 2022 and as a result, got very few chances to return kickoffs or punts as the season went on. That carried into last week with Wayne State allowing no punt returns and only one kickoff return on the night. The Rock led the nation in kickoff return yards in 2022 averaging more than 30 yards per return.
 
CLOCK RULE CHANGE NOTE
The NCAA changed the clock rules this year and will no longer stop the clock to set the chains for first downs during most of the game. The clock will still stop briefly for first downs inside the final two minutes of the second and fourth quarters, but otherwise will run on first downs. It was easy to see the impact through one week this fall. SRU averaged 68 offensive plays per game in 2022 and games SRU played in featured an average of 132 plays per game. Last week, The Rock managed just 52 offensive plays. With SRU averaging 6.7 yards per play, an additional 15 plays would account for about 100 yards of offense.
 
STARTERS NOTES
DT Munchie Johnson has started the last 26 straight games for the longest active streak on the roster. LT Yuriy Hryckowian has the next longest active streak at 19 straight starts, followed by LG Colton Rossi at 17 straight. The Rock have 10 players that have made at least 11 starts in the Green and White and 19 players that have started at least five games during their SRU tenure.
 
HRYCKOWIAN NOMINATED FOR CAMPBELL TROPHY
SRU left tackle Yuriy Hryckowian is The Rock's nominee for the 2023 William Campbell Trophy, which is known as the "Academic Heisman." Hryckowian already earned his undergraduate degree in business management with a minor in marketing from SRU with a 3.685 GPA. He is currently enrolled in the master's of business administration program and owns a 4.0 graduate school GPA. SRU has had two finalists for the Campbell Trophy (Marcus Martin in 2017 and Henry Litwin in 2021) and is the only school in the PSAC to ever have a finalist.
 
CAPTAINS
Slippery Rock has named six captains for the 2023 season with three offensive captains, two defensive captains and one special teams captain. The captains are QB Brayden Long, OL Nick Stazer, WR Kyle Sheets, LB Kyle Kudla, DL Munchie Johnson and TE Kam Kruzelyak.
 
PRESEASON NATIONAL RECOGNITION
Slippery Rock was ranked No. 15 in the Lindy's Sports preseason poll that was released earlier this summer, was ranked No. 15 in the AFCA Division II preseason national poll and was ranked No. 16 in the D2football.com preseason national poll.

RETURNING ALL-PSAC PLAYERS
Slippery Rock returns seven players from a division-leading 14 All-PSAC honorees last fall. The Rock return first team All-PSAC honorees Chris D'Or (RB), Jawon Hall (WR/RS) and Jalen Dangerfield (DB), as well as second team honorees Yuriy Hryckowian (OL), Colton Rossi (OL), Jeff Burkhart (OL) and Kyle Sheets (WR).
 
SHEETS NAMED TO ELITE 100 LIST
WR Kyle Sheets was named to the D2football.com Elite 100 Watch List entering the season. Sheets is one of just four total wide receivers in Division II to make the first or second team on the Elite 100 Watch List. He entered the year ranked 18th at SRU in career receiving TDs and 24th in career receiving yards. His size (6-4, 220 pounds) and ball skills have him on the radar of NFL scouts.
 
WINNING SEASONS STREAK
Slippery Rock has put together a winning season in each of the last 13 years, which ranks ninth among all Division II programs for the longest active winning seasons streak in the country. The only other program in the PSAC with more consecutive winning seasons currently is California (Pa.), which has strung together 18 winning seasons entering 2023.
 
WE'VE PLAYED A LOT OF FOOTBALL
Slippery Rock has played 54 games since the start of the 2018 season, which is tied with Notre Dame (Ohio) and Shepherd for the most games played among all Super Region One schools. The Rock are averaging an impressive 10.75 wins per year over the last four years, all of which have resulted in trips to the NCAA Playoffs.
 
FEATURED EVENTS ON THE SCHEDULE
Slippery Rock will host six home games during the regular season in 2023 and five of those dates will feature special events or be part of larger campus and community events. The Sept. 9 game against West Chester will be the annual Hall of Fame Game with the SRU Hall of Fame inductees being enshrined earlier that day. The Sept. 16 game against Millersville will be the nightcap to the annual Slippery Rock VillageFest and will be the White Out game this fall. The Sept. 30 game against IUP will be the annual Salute to Military and First Responders game. Homecoming is set for Oct. 21 against California (Pa.) and the Oct. 28 game against Clarion will be Senior Day.
 
UP NEXT
Slippery Rock will close out a three-game homestand to open the year when Millersville visits next Saturday for a 6 p.m. kickoff in the annual "White Out" game. That game will be the nightcap to the annual Slippery Rock VillageFest, which will run most of the day in downtown Slippery Rock before the game.




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